


Past Midnight Thoughts

by roshytsunami



Series: Bruce Banner Week 2018 [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Bruce Banner-centric, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 09:43:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16083515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roshytsunami/pseuds/roshytsunami
Summary: This is for the Bruce Week from Septemeber 24-30 of 2018. I couldn't decide on which prompts to do for each day so all of them hence 14 days of Bruce Banner centered fics.Prompt Genius:Bruce is feeling weighed down by his past mistakes at 1:36 am thankfully Clint knows how to cheer him up.





	Past Midnight Thoughts

Wow just wow. That’s all Bruce can think about or say at the moment. The last few weeks or months? He’s not sure dimensional skipping or time travel? Well, whatever it was that happened he’s not sure it agreed with him. It feels worse than a layover for 36 hours. He just wants to sleep it away but he needs to help out. Work isn’t done just because the grape jelly exploded. May that fucker rest in pieces and never return like most villains seem to.

It takes a few months before everyone feels safe enough to not be on constant edge the purple menace will return and it takes even longer to start rebuilding the Avenger’s tower. More heroes had been dubbed Avengers in the previous battle and hence more rooms were being built in the tower. Bruce, of course, didn’t need a bed. A bed would be nice but if memory served him correctly Tony had a pull-out couch in the lab he could borrow. Let someone else have the bed. He’s slept on worse.

So Bruce makes his home in the lab like a heathen for the next few months. Tony, of course, tries to charm him into one of the rooms. Arguing he is one of the original six Avengers he should get dibs but Bruce doesn’t want a room. He likes his privacy and currently, construction is taking place near the only available rooms so restful sleep is not possible. It’s no use so Tony gives up on the cause. Instead, Bruce is his new lab partner or partner in crime. Hell, he’s the only one that hasn’t been disappointed in him and is blunt when he messes up. It’s comforting considering he keeps placing the blame on himself for all that happened. 

Bruce knows that game has been intimate with that game of blaming one’s self for all the destruction so he helps Tony with it…sort of. There’s a reason he can’t be a therapist but he tries. Currently, though he’s listening to one of Tony’s engineer technobabble when he notices an error on the template. It’s not a big enough error to destroy all his work but it will take some maneuvering to manage and fix.

“Wow you’re a genius Bruce,” answers Tony over the phone. “Thanks for catching that find. I’m not a biophysics person like you.”

“Yeah, anytime Tony. Good luck with your presentation.”

“Don’t need luck Brucie bear I got style. I’ll have these guys eating from the palm of my hand thanks to your quick thinking.” Tony chuckles from the other side of the line.

“Pssh sure Tony. You would have had it in the bag with or without my insight. People flock to the Stark brand. Tony?” He says hearing nothing over the line. “Tony you know I’m kidding, right? You’re more than a brand name. Tony?”

“Ha got ya Bruce just keep stroking my ego baby.”

“Alright, I can see your confidence is back. Hanging up now.” He rolls his eyes pressing the call end button.

“Aww, Brucie don’t be-”

Bruce sighs stretching from the chair. He needs to move around maybe grab a snack? It’s been what over fourteen hours since his last meal…yeah, time for food. He rolls the chair back and stands up before heading to the kitchen yawning. It’s quite in the kitchen, well it’s to be expected since it’s 1:36 am not a good time to be eating but who cares he’s hungry and needs a snack before sleep. Unfortunately, nothing decent looks to be in the fridge. He might just have to suffer with an oatmeal bar.

He reaches in the cabinet and grabs two square oatmeal bars filled with fruit. He rips open the package and chomps down on the first bar shrugging. He sighs looking at the old coffee and wrinkles his nose. Instead, he pulls out some instant hot tea and prepares it.

Genius. He thinks to himself as he eats. He wouldn’t call himself a genius. Smart sure but geniuses don’t make massive errors like he has. They also don’t cause destruction. Mostly they’re alone and isolated…well he is alone in the kitchen and team morale is low. He is only called when someone needs help no one actively seeks him out, rarely Tony but it’s to be expected. He and Pepper are getting married within the next year. Still, it does feel lonely.

Maybe all he is good for is smashing and proofreading over Tony’s technology. Even then it’s not like anyone needs Bruce. Tony doesn’t need him to proofread he’s smart enough a genius without the isolation. Rare breed really. They only need Hulk for smashing and saving the world, not Bruce. Bruce is just a piece that comes with Hulk sort of like those toys that have the popular character and then another character no one likes just to sell the unwanted toy.

“Yo what up Bruce, “asks Clint chomping on a bowl of Fruitloops. He leaps into one of the stool chairs and  
sits down legs dangling as he reaches for the pot of coffee.

“Clint that coffee is old-” he states coming out from his hazy thoughts.

Clint just downs the coffee partly sludge by now and winces. “Yeah, it’s bad…still coffee. Uh anyway, what ya doing?”

“Eating oatmeal bars and drinking tea?”

“Yeah I see that but you got that weird look in your eyes like something bad happened.”

“Wow nothing gets past you,” he says sarcastically.

“Marksman,” he taps by his eyes, “gotta see everything fluffy so?”

“Tony called me a genius.” He rubs the handle of the coffee cup nervous.

“…ok and that’s bad how?” Clint raises an eyebrow as he stuffs another bite of cereal in his mouth.

“It’s not…just don’t agree with it.” He mumbles taking a sip of his tea.

“Oh Mr. 7 PhDs doesn’t agree with being a genius,” he says earning a smile from Bruce. “Still can’t believe you said that to Thor.”

“We were fighting and he only wanted the Hulk. It was gross so I tried to one-up Hulk?”

“Dude you’re like a couple of brothers well you act like it the way you talk about Hulk. Is that how it  
works?” He asks curiously with a mouth full of food. He crunches his bite before swallowing.

“Clint I’m drinking tea…it’s too complicated and too much energy to talk about right now but sure I guess we’re kind of brothers?”

“Is Hulk the older brother type?”

“Pssh kind of like a younger brother that defends me all the time. I guess.” He smiles softly.

“That’s nice I guess…so still not telling me the genius tale?” He wiggles his eyebrows earning a laugh from Bruce.

“You’re persistent and it’s just stupid.”

“Not stupid if it’s got you bothered.” He states resting his bowl on the counter.

“Clint-”

“Really going to make me say it aren’t you. Alexa play Despacito.” In the background, Alexa repeats the command and plays the song. It begins to fill the room and has Bruce groaning.

“You’re a dick.”

“Eh been called worse so continue.” He nudges Bruce who looks at him sighing.

“Genius’s are known to be brilliant but isolated and lonely. I’ve just been having those feelings and my brain makes me think of stupid scenarios that could or could not be true.”

“You’re not alone though? You’re with us all the time.” He states raising an eyebrow.

“I’m in the building but I feel alone even with people around me. I think you guys are going to ditch me or turn me in as soon as it’s convenient… saying it out loud makes it sound stupid right?”

“Naw man you feel what you feel. I just feel bad we’re making you feel like that. I mean what can we do so you don’t feel that way? Oh, we got movie night if no lame brain villain decides to attack us this Thursday night. You wanna join us? I mean you do come to those sometimes but uh maybe we can hang out there more?”

“That…that could help. Really thanks Clint just my brain can be a worse monster than any villain.” He laughs sadly.

“Yeah, it can be. I tried this imagine thing someone told me like imagine them as some whiny tween fuckboy saying it to you or some person you don’t take seriously. It helps sometimes but not all the time you know.” He shrugs his shoulders taking back his bowl to finish his Fruitloops.

“I’ll try. Thanks again, Clint.”

“Aww, anytime freckles. Heading to the couch just gonna laze about might fall asleep wanna join?” He smiles.

“I um maybe,” Bruce says unsure. He needs to take baby steps and Clint it’s more of a leap of faith with him…same as with Tony.

“No pressure Bruce offer is open is all I’m saying.” He gives Bruce one finger gun before heading to the couch with the big screen tv. Bruce fidgets with his tea and the last oatmeal bar on the counter before making up his mind to join Clint.


End file.
